With all the conspiracy theories in the media on Kobe's inexplicable game seven passivity one would think that Phil Jackson would back up his star player. Why hasn't he been more vocal about Kobe's decided role in the second half. Based on half statements and comments I have seen it looks like both he and Kobe came to the agreement that they weren't going to win with him going for 50. But why doesn't Phil come and and publicly say so?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Fiyah:</div><div class="quote_post">With all the conspiracy theories in the media on Kobe's inexplicable game seven passivity one would think that Phil Jackson would back up his star player. Why hasn't he been more vocal about Kobe's decided role in the second half. Based on half statements and comments I have seen it looks like both he and Kobe came to the agreement that they weren't going to win with him going for 50. But why doesn't Phil come and and publicly say so? </div> Didn't he say just that in the press conference? Honestly, though, I can't imagine that Phil Jackson wanted Kobe to be THAT passive. There came a point late in the third quarter when Kobe should have asserted himself much more. The way Kobe's season ended was filled to the brim with irony. One of the most prolific scoring seasons in NBA history, and to end it all like that? Wow.
The concensus out here in LA on the talkshows is pointing all the blame on Kupcake. He's put together a team with little character and in two seasons his point guards are Smush Parker and Sasha Vujacic. PJax has also been ripped for not coaching more in the last two games. This team isn't the veteran team he's used to coaching and they needed him to settle them down when Phoenix was making a run. Why didn't he put Jim Jackson in the game? Aaron McKie? or put Kobe on Nash? And the big one, why wasn't his team mentally prepared for Game 7? Those are some the criticisms he's been receiving. He was also criticized for not figuring out a way to stop the pick and roll. But in fairness PJax has never figured out how to stop this play. Stockton and Malone used to run it on the Bulls all the time, Webber and Bibby, Parker and Duncan, and now Nash and Diaw. He's had a history of not being able to defend that play. No one's really blaming Kobe for shutting it down in the 2nd half. He was the only player who showed up in Game 7 for the Lakers. He scored 23 points in the 1st half, and the Lakers were still down by 15 points. So scoring 46 points and losing by 30 wasn't in anyone's best interest. No one else on the Lakers even shot 50% in Game 7. The supporting cast lost all it's fight in the Game 6 loss and came in to Game 7 with a defeatist attitude. Anyone who's followed the Lakers all season long realizes this team doesn't play defense unless they are scoring. The confidence level of Smush, Odom, Kwame, and Luke fall off dramatically when they can't score. Both Kobe and PJax felt the only way to get back in this game is getting these guys involved on offense, so they would step up their intensity on defense.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">The concensus out here in LA on the talkshows is pointing all the blame on Kupcake. He's put together a team with little character and in two seasons his point guards are Smush Parker and Sasha Vujacic. PJax has also been ripped for not coaching more in the last two games. This team isn't the veteran team he's used to coaching and they needed him to settle them down when Phoenix was making a run. Why didn't he put Jim Jackson in the game? Aaron McKie? or put Kobe on Nash? And the big one, why wasn't his team mentally prepared for Game 7? Those are some the criticisms he's been receiving. He was also criticized for not figuring out a way to stop the pick and roll. But in fairness PJax has never figured out how to stop this play. Stockton and Malone used to run it on the Bulls all the time, Webber and Bibby, Parker and Duncan, and now Nash and Diaw. He's had a history of not being able to defend that play. No one's really blaming Kobe for shutting it down in the 2nd half. He was the only player who showed up in Game 7 for the Lakers. He scored 23 points in the 1st half, and the Lakers were still down by 15 points. So scoring 46 points and losing by 30 wasn't in anyone's best interest. No one else on the Lakers even shot 50% in Game 7. The supporting cast lost all it's fight in the Game 6 loss and came in to Game 7 with a defeatist attitude. Anyone who's followed the Lakers all season long realizes this team doesn't play defense unless they are scoring. The confidence level of Smush, Odom, Kwame, and Luke fall off dramatically when they can't score. Both Kobe and PJax felt the only way to get back in this game is getting these guys involved on offense, so they would step up their intensity on defense.</div> Cool. I am with you on all of that. But you really haven't answered my question: The current media pressure is on Kobe for "tanking" game seven. A number of articles have come up pondering what happened in the second half of game seven and basically implying Kobe either gave up on the team or purposely played passively to prove a point. Why hasn't Phil been more vocal in his defense of his superstar (apart from in the post game interview)? If you ask me this has been one of the problems with Jackson who in the past has allowed the media circus to pick at the Lakers like vultures and has caused riffs between teammates and even himself and the players. When Kobe was getting hammered by the media for trying to take over games in the fourth Phil did not speak up and it wasn't until his book came out that we learned of his sympathy for Kobe who was instructed by him to take over, go outside of the offense and snatch a victory, but who when the game was lost bore the brunt of a media attack. This is history repeating itself if you ask me... when the media even starts blaming Kobe for something not even remotely his fault and all it would take is a verbal shield from Phil to at least slow them down why does he dissappear? Its that same type of attitude of "things working themselves out" that gets to me sometimes. When Phoenix is on a 15-0 run call timeout! And when the media is looking to hang your superstar say something!
